Semi Wester (postwar)
}} See also the wartime Wester, a very different 4.5×6cm camera made by the same manufacturer in the first half of the 1940s. The Semi Wester (セミウエスター) is a Japanese 4.5×6 folding camera made around 1951 by Nishida. It was followed by the Wester 6×6 folders. Description The postwar Semi Wester is a horizontal folder with straight diagonal struts. The main body shows some similarity to the late variant of the Apollo and to the postwar Semi Proud made by Sumida. It is possible that Nishida bought the body shells to that company, but nothing is known for sure. The top plate is peculiar to the Semi Wester. It has a folding optical finder in the middle. The folding bed release is on the left and the body release on the right, as seen by the photographer. The advance knob is at the right end, and there is an accessory shoe at the other end. The back is hinged to the left, and is retained by a sliding bar on the right. It has a single green-coloured rectangular window at the bottom, protected by a sliding cover. The name Semi Wester is engraved on the top plate, on the viewfinder's left, and the company name NISHIDA OPTICAL CO. is inscribed on the viewfinder's right. The initials NKK (for Nishida Kōgaku Kōgyō) are embossed in the leatherette of the front door, and the name SEMI WESTER is embossed on the back. The lens is a three-element Tanimura, p.25 of no.11. Wester Anastigmat or C. Wester Anastigmat 7.5cm f/3.5, with front-cell focusing. All the lenses are coated, and the "C." prefix makes no practical difference. The shutter is a Wester giving B, 1–200 speeds, with a self-timer and a synch pin at the bottom. The shutter plate is inscribed WESTER at the top and the rotating rim is engraved N.K.K. at the bottom. The ever-ready case is made of brown leather and is embossed Wester at the front. Commercial life and variations The Semi Wester was featured in Japanese magazines dated 1951 but no advertisement is reported. , p.346. It is said that the price was ¥8,100 (case not included). Tanimura, p.26 of no.11. Only a few surviving examples have been observed so far. The examples pictured in this page have a serial number engraved on the top plate (no.1989 and 2009), and a Wester Anastigmat coated lens numbered in the 19xxx range. The example pictured in seems to have similar features. Example pictured in , item 1439, and in , p.343. Other cameras have a C. prefix added to the lens name; Examples pictured in Tanimura, p.25 of no.11, and observed in an online auction. at least one is known to have no serial number on the body and a larger spacing between the words NISHIDA and OPTICAL CO. Example observed in an online auction. Rebadged version A rebadged version of the Semi Wester was featured in Japanese magazines dated September and November 1951. , p.374 (item 1046). The name is only known in katakana: セミロード, certainly for "Semi Lord". , p.374, says "Semi Roud" but this source is not very reliable for Roman spellings, and "Semi Lord" is more plausible. The column in September 1951, reproduced above, says that the Semi Lord I has a Lord (ロード) 75/3.5 lens and a synchronized shutter (B, 1–200, self-timer). Judging from the very small photograph, the pictured camera looks indistinguishable from the Semi Wester, and seems to have an NKK Wester shutter. In the document, the distributor is mentioned as Inoue Shōten, and the price is given as "about ¥10,000". The text goes on saying that a Semi Lord II would appear with a modified viewfinder. No surviving example of the Semi Lord has yet been observed, and it is not known if the camera was actually sold. Notes Bibliography * September 1951. "Shinseihin memo" (新製品, New products memo). P.103. * Items 386 and 1046. * Item 1439. * Tanimura Yoshihiko (谷村吉彦). "Wester Six". Pp.25–7. Links In Japanese: * Semi Wester among other cameras at AEI Collectibles Category: Japanese 4.5x6 viewfinder folding Category: S Wester, Semi